Office



- fBe it known that I, EDWARDS. Rircnina' citizenof the United States of America, and

e now'or latc'a jresident of Brookline, `in the eountyof Norfolk andState of Massachusetts,

` .ing Grass; i

have inventedan Improved Machine for Mew-- Ido hereby declare the same tobe fully de ribed in `"the following specifi`v e `cation and represented in the accompanying drawings, ofwhichL 1 c FigureV atop e nd Fig. 2 a rear eleva-` tion of it.` Fig. 3"isa1vertical and transverse seaiontaken throng-nineties; ofthe driving- A l pulleyof the endlessband-knife. Fig. fis a` hrizontalsection taken `through the axle of `ofmy invention consistsu in an e endless bandrknife, its drivingfpulley, a series of teeth, and a continuous or endless"carrier` or frame, as `arrangedffand applied together substantially innianner and so as to operate substantially as hereinafterspecied; also, in

4an arrangement of a guidingwheel with Athe `band-kni'fe, whereby the latter, while in rotary Linotion,is caused toiputtheforinerinrevolu` y Ytion invamannerto sharpen the cutting-edge ofjsuch knifeyalso, in a peculiar arrangee nient and applicationof the band-knife carrier and drivinglpulley with respect tothe bearing# e wheels and` their axle, also, inthe combination of a clutch` and its operative mechanism i .with the driving `bearingfwheel', the knife-op` erating trainof gears," and the knife-carrier, arrangedwithl andappliedlto the axle of the bearing l-whee-ls i `substantially as hereinafter specified.

In the "draw gs, A exhibits acarriage or shaft frame asprovided withan axle, B, and

two 'bearing-{"wheels, .C 'C'. 4Each `of these wheels isso appliedtothe axle as to be capable y of being freely revolved on it and independe ently ofthe otherwheel."` One oftheniviz., n `lthat. marked C-is furnished with an internal gearorrangeof teeth, a, which engages with a pinion, `b,flxed onone end of a shaft, c,

which extendspacross the frame A, and is ar-` rangedparallelmto theaxleB, A gear, d, 'apf plied loosely on the shaft c, engages with a gear, e, which runs freely on the axleiand engages with acircular range of teeth, f,`ar

ranged onfthe; innerfor front side ,ofl the driving-pulley@` of the knife E. The said knife s. nironiii, on isnookninn`,-'Massxcnnsnrrs ranged within an elongated frame or carrier,

F, shaped as shown in the drawings. The lower part, g, ofthe carrier is a'straight bar, and is provided with a series of teeth, G G G, ,each of which projects from it laterally and -below the part g andfover the knife, as shown in Fig. 5,`which is a section of oneof ,such teeth, the knife, andthe said part g of the carrier. The several teeth ,G G G are disposed at equal distances apart along the bar g. The endless band-knife extends around the periphery of the pulley D and those of three guideipulleys, 7L i k, that part of the carrier which is between the pulleys It and being f furnished with a groove or socket, Z, for re ceiving the knife and holdingit in place with respeetto the carrier. The carrier and the kniiedriving pulley are so arranged with respect to the wheels C C and axleB as not only to cause the pulley D and av part of the earrier to be between the two wheels, but so that one of the1n-viz., the wheel G-1nay proj ect through `the carrier, as shown in the drawings-A 'Ihe carrier is connected with the axle by means of two arms, m m, which extend from it and embrace and turn freely on the said axle. y Furthermore, the knife is pressed in contact with the drivingpulley'D by means of` an elastic roller, H, arranged in the earrier, "as shown in Figs. l and 2. A cylindri- `cal. grindstone, 1, `is also supported by and `within the carrier, and has its lower side inclined to the knife, `and so arranged with respect to it that the cutting-edge of the knife shall extend across the stone in a chord of an are of the'periphery of snc-h side. 'In consequence of such an arrangement of thefgrinder Y revolved by and with such shaft.` This clutch is operated by a bent lever, L, whose longer arm `is connected with one of the arms ,m `by means of a rod, M, which is jointed to the said lever e Land armm. From the above itwill be seen that the knife and its carrier `can be turned laterally about 1 an endless band or belt of steel, it being arf` the ,axle B, and'from the position shownin Fig. 1 into that shown in Fig. 6. The consequence is that while the carrier is being so turned the clutch K will be forced out of engagement with the guard d, which, under such circumstances, will be free to revolve 011 its shaft. 4

I would remark, in respect to the arm m, which is next to the wheel C, that its hole 1- for reception of the axle may have a diameter somewhat larger than that part of the axle which is embraced by it, such heilig to enable the carrier to vibrate a little vertically, in order that it may readily accommodate itself to the variablesurface ofthe ground on which it may rest while the machine may be in operation.

The operation of themaehine may be thus described: \Vhile it is being drawn forward on the surface of afield of grass to be mowed, the wheel C, through the train of gears and the pulley ]),will transmit a revolvingmotion to the endless band-knife,which, as it is drawn -along the bar g, will. eut the blades ot grass which may be between the teeth G G G and against its cutting-edge. Now, should the bar be drawn against a stone or any obstacle such aswould be likelyto impede the machine or injure the cutting-edge of the knife, the Carmel-,with the knife, will be tilted backward until the obstacle may be passed. Such a tilting movement of the carrier will tend to cause the clutch to be drawn out of engagement with the gear d, which, having taken place, the rotary motion of the knif'e will be stopped.

Two important advantages result from the clutch mechanism and the particular arrangement and application of the carrier and its knife relatively to the axle and its wheels-' that is to say, by means of such the knife can pass an obstacle and be thrown out of action; and, furthermore, the carrier may be turned into a horizontal position while the machine may be in the act of being moved either to or from a iield of grass, in which case both the wheels will revolve without producing any revolving movelnent of the knife.

I do not claim an endless band-knife of itself; but i XV hat I do claim in the above-described machine as of my invention is as follows-that is to say:

l. The arrangement of the revolving knife consisting of an endless band of spring-steel, its driving-pulley,- a series of teeth, and a con- .tinuous or endless' carrier or frame, substantially in manner and so as to operate as here inbefore specified.

2. The arrangement of the grimling-wheel relatively to the endless band-knife.

3. Arranging the band-knife carrier and driving-pulley relatively to the axle and the wheels thereof, as described, and applying the carrier to the axle bymeans of arms or equi valent devices, so that the carrier may be tilted or moved relatively to the wheels and axle, as specified. f

4. The combination of the clutch and its op erative mechanism, substantially as described, with the diiving\\'lieel, the train of gears, and the knife-carrier, arranged and applied together as set forth. f

- E.' S. RI'FHIE. Vitnesses:

R. H. EDDY, F. P. "HALE, Jr. 

